SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
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Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
Hi All, Anthony Vapes back here with my review of the Hcigar Aurora Squonk Mod. Please see bottom for disclaimers and links
Introduction:
The Hcigar Aurora Squonk Mod is a new mod from popular vape manufacturer hcigar. They have been in vaping quite some time, at first they were known for making good quality mech clones but in the past few years have been making their own designs and most famous for their DNA chipped mods like the vt133, VT167, VT250 and VT250s. The Aurora is a single 2x700 battery squonk mod but doesn't have a DNA chip and instead uses a Towis XT80C chipset so we’ll see how that stacks up. It also has a cool unique way of battery adapters as well. It’s listed at 47.95 USD on elementvape. It’s available in 3 colors, Black, Silver and Red.
Manufacturer's Specs: Mod
album
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this Mod, it felt a little on the bigger side for a single battery squonk mod. I expected it to be a little bigger since it does take 21700 batteries and while it’s not large it’s about the size of a standard dual 18650 mod. I also liked that it’s full metal. It adds a little weight over the plastic pulse 80w mod but also feels really sturdy and durable. I love what they did with the battery adapter as well. It’s pretty innovative and i’ll go over that more later. The coloring and feel of the mod is nice and i like the standard color screen that’s similar to the geekvape ones. It comes with 2 bottles which is great but one is a black plastic bottle. I prefer the clear silicone one easily but can’t complain about a spare since most mods don’t come with one. Overall I liked this mod from the start as a simple affordable single 2x700 squonk mod.
Watt Mode Performance (chart and spreadsheet in picture album)
Now let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. I used Samsung 30T 21700 batteries for the testing. Testing resistances were done at .11, .14, .19, and .63 ohms. wattage points were max (80), 60, 40 and 20. At .11 ohms it maxed out at 85 watts and 28 amps. For the rest of the testing it was a little on the high side 3-4 watts. Pretty accurate at such a low resistance where many mods struggle At .14 it maxed out at 81 watts. The rest were pretty good being on point or hitting slightly high by 2 watts. For the .19 test it maxed out at 84 watts. Again pretty good but a little on the high side 1-4 watts. For the .63 testing it maxed out at 86 watts and 7.363 volts. For the rest of the testing on point to 3 watts high. The volts shows there is a boost circuit in this mod like most single battery mods have.
Overall I felt the performance of this mod was really good. It didn’t really struggle with the .11 ohm build which was surprising I was able to get the full 80 watts and then some at that resistance. It mostly hits slightly high but 1-3 watts. I consider it to be accurately rated at 80 watts, even a little underrated. I was able to get the full 80 or more all the way from .11 ohms to .63 ohms at minimum so no worry about resistance playing a factor in max output for most. The 7.363 volt limit shows there is a boost circuit. Their manual doesn’t list max Volts but my 7.363 was capped off by the watt limit. They do not list an amp limit on this mod either i could find. The most i got was 28 with a .11 ohm coil but was capped off by the watt limit. Still 28 is very good for a single battery where the range for most is 25-30 so on the higher side for that and shouldn’t be any issue for anyone. In short, the volt limit and amp limits won’t really have any factor and are more then high enough. The mod never got warm when stressing which is nice. It stays cool to the touch all the time. Also one short note is there is a very small “hard” preheat on normal. Not even noticeable when vaping and only seen during testing.
Simplified TLDR Power Performance summary
Mod performance is really good. Mostly hits just a few watts off on the high side. Accurately rated for watts (86), Yes boost circuit, above average amp limit of 28+. Volts tested at 7.363+. Also impressive you can get 80 or more watts from a .11 to a .63 ohm coil. Slight hard pre-heat on normal that isn’t really noticeable during normal vaping.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire in SS mode only. They do not have a TCR mode or any ability to adjust the TCR. You can adjust the power to the full 80 watts which will adjust the ramp up. I used 5 builds on this. A simple round spaced single and dual coil, 2 fancy single coils, and 1 fancy smaller dual coil build. With that said, the only way i can describe it is anemic. If i turn it all the way up to 600F i can get a good vape actually. About where it should be at the 420-440F range. Slightly warm. The dry hit protection is great but that’s about all i can say good about it. It actually vapes pretty good at max 600F but there is no wiggle room with going higher in temp or adjusting TCR for accuracy so it has to be a fail for me. Not something i’d recommend for temp control at all
Other Usage Notes
The mod uses a standard 5 click to lock and unlock the mod. There is no off button but it does feature an automatic off after not being in use in which you can turn that off or set the time limit. I set mine to 60 mins personally. The Menu is pretty simple. It features a menu button and works like the DNA C chips. Press menu and it’ll highlight something on the screen then use up and down to change what is highlighted and use menu to allow it to be adjusted. Fire button acts as a back button. At the top is VW/TC. Highlight that to switch between TC mode and Power mode. In TC mode you can highlight the type and change to SS, Ni, or Ti. You can highlight the watts to change the watts as well or the temp type (F or C). In VW mode you can change the preheat from normal, powerful, and soft options. Pretty simple overall. At the bottom is a setting icon. Going into that takes you to a sub menu where you can lock the device, lock the resistance for TC mode, set the screen time, the brightness, the language, the off timer, and check the version or factory reset. That’s about it.
The Hcigar Aurora adjusts by 1 watt increments. I love that and wish all mods did that. The mod itself is built solid with no rattle at all, and feels solid with a good weight to it. The Battery door is a standard magnetic backplate and It’s easy to get batteries in and out without damaging wraps and takes 1 2x700 or 18650 battery. There is a ribbon in the battery sled to make it easier. All the batteries i used fit really nicely in the mod including the avatar controls ones which seem to be slightly larger than most 21700 batteries. I also used the vapecell gold 20700, ijoy 5 leg 20700, samsung 30T 21700, aspire 21700 and VTC5a and samsung 25r with the built in adapter. No issues with any of them and no damaged wraps. Now for the adapter, i absolutely love the way they did it. Very innovative. While most mods just have a tube to put in an 18650 battery, the aurora has a slider behind the back panel. Not the panel with the battery and juice but the other side panel. You slide it right to use a 2x700 battery and for an 18650 slide it left which slides out a new contact area to fit in an 18650. Excellent idea and very well designed. The battery doors are made of solid metal so please don’t use batteries with damaged wraps.
The paint on the mod is excellent. I have the red one. No wearing or fading. It looks like a brushed finished as well. Very beautiful. The fire button is nice and clicky and large. It’s a simple black square with texture on it that protrudes out well and nice and clicky. The 510 pin gave me no issues and every atomizer i used on it worked great with no gaps. The mod handles 24mm atomizer flush. Anything bigger will overhang the top plate but not the mod as a whole as the side panels protrude out as well. I think it looks best with a 24mm RDA personally. The screen is a nice sized .96” color screen that is nice and bright and easy to see. Also for branding on the mod itself there is literally none at all. The only branding is inside behind the side panels with a simple hcigar logo and aurora logo. Nothing on the outside.They don’t list a charging rate for the mod but i don’t recommend charging internally in your mods. I don’t do any fancy testing on it but I did charge it a few times in the mod with no issues and it shows you a lightning bolt in the battery bar when charging like an iphone.
Introduction:
The Hcigar Aurora Squonk Mod is a new mod from popular vape manufacturer hcigar. They have been in vaping quite some time, at first they were known for making good quality mech clones but in the past few years have been making their own designs and most famous for their DNA chipped mods like the vt133, VT167, VT250 and VT250s. The Aurora is a single 2x700 battery squonk mod but doesn't have a DNA chip and instead uses a Towis XT80C chipset so we’ll see how that stacks up. It also has a cool unique way of battery adapters as well. It’s listed at 47.95 USD on elementvape. It’s available in 3 colors, Black, Silver and Red.
Manufacturer's Specs: Mod
- Dimensions - 58mm by 27.5mm by 92mm
- Weight - 159g
- Single 18650 / 20700 / 21700 Battery - Battery Not Included
- Battery Toggle Switch - Change Between Sizes
- Wattage Output Range: 5-80W
- Temperature Range: 100-300C / 200-600F
- Ni200, Titanium, and 304/316/317 Stainless Steel Compatibility
- Zinc Alloy Chassis Panels
- Oversized Firing Button
- Two Adjustment Buttons
- Menu Confirm Button
- 0.96" TFT Full Color Screen
- Magnetic Zinc Alloy Door
- Overheating Protection
- Short Circuit Protection
- Overtime Protection
- Overcurrent Protection
- Resistance Protection
- Low Battery Protection
- Micro USB Port
- 7mL Environmental EVA Squonk Bottle
- Centered 510 Connection
- 1 HCigar Aurora 80W Squonk Mod
- 1 QC USB Cable
- 1 EVA Replacement Bottle
- 1 User Manual
- 1 Warranty Card
album
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this Mod, it felt a little on the bigger side for a single battery squonk mod. I expected it to be a little bigger since it does take 21700 batteries and while it’s not large it’s about the size of a standard dual 18650 mod. I also liked that it’s full metal. It adds a little weight over the plastic pulse 80w mod but also feels really sturdy and durable. I love what they did with the battery adapter as well. It’s pretty innovative and i’ll go over that more later. The coloring and feel of the mod is nice and i like the standard color screen that’s similar to the geekvape ones. It comes with 2 bottles which is great but one is a black plastic bottle. I prefer the clear silicone one easily but can’t complain about a spare since most mods don’t come with one. Overall I liked this mod from the start as a simple affordable single 2x700 squonk mod.
Watt Mode Performance (chart and spreadsheet in picture album)
Now let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. I used Samsung 30T 21700 batteries for the testing. Testing resistances were done at .11, .14, .19, and .63 ohms. wattage points were max (80), 60, 40 and 20. At .11 ohms it maxed out at 85 watts and 28 amps. For the rest of the testing it was a little on the high side 3-4 watts. Pretty accurate at such a low resistance where many mods struggle At .14 it maxed out at 81 watts. The rest were pretty good being on point or hitting slightly high by 2 watts. For the .19 test it maxed out at 84 watts. Again pretty good but a little on the high side 1-4 watts. For the .63 testing it maxed out at 86 watts and 7.363 volts. For the rest of the testing on point to 3 watts high. The volts shows there is a boost circuit in this mod like most single battery mods have.
Overall I felt the performance of this mod was really good. It didn’t really struggle with the .11 ohm build which was surprising I was able to get the full 80 watts and then some at that resistance. It mostly hits slightly high but 1-3 watts. I consider it to be accurately rated at 80 watts, even a little underrated. I was able to get the full 80 or more all the way from .11 ohms to .63 ohms at minimum so no worry about resistance playing a factor in max output for most. The 7.363 volt limit shows there is a boost circuit. Their manual doesn’t list max Volts but my 7.363 was capped off by the watt limit. They do not list an amp limit on this mod either i could find. The most i got was 28 with a .11 ohm coil but was capped off by the watt limit. Still 28 is very good for a single battery where the range for most is 25-30 so on the higher side for that and shouldn’t be any issue for anyone. In short, the volt limit and amp limits won’t really have any factor and are more then high enough. The mod never got warm when stressing which is nice. It stays cool to the touch all the time. Also one short note is there is a very small “hard” preheat on normal. Not even noticeable when vaping and only seen during testing.
Simplified TLDR Power Performance summary
Mod performance is really good. Mostly hits just a few watts off on the high side. Accurately rated for watts (86), Yes boost circuit, above average amp limit of 28+. Volts tested at 7.363+. Also impressive you can get 80 or more watts from a .11 to a .63 ohm coil. Slight hard pre-heat on normal that isn’t really noticeable during normal vaping.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire in SS mode only. They do not have a TCR mode or any ability to adjust the TCR. You can adjust the power to the full 80 watts which will adjust the ramp up. I used 5 builds on this. A simple round spaced single and dual coil, 2 fancy single coils, and 1 fancy smaller dual coil build. With that said, the only way i can describe it is anemic. If i turn it all the way up to 600F i can get a good vape actually. About where it should be at the 420-440F range. Slightly warm. The dry hit protection is great but that’s about all i can say good about it. It actually vapes pretty good at max 600F but there is no wiggle room with going higher in temp or adjusting TCR for accuracy so it has to be a fail for me. Not something i’d recommend for temp control at all
Other Usage Notes
The mod uses a standard 5 click to lock and unlock the mod. There is no off button but it does feature an automatic off after not being in use in which you can turn that off or set the time limit. I set mine to 60 mins personally. The Menu is pretty simple. It features a menu button and works like the DNA C chips. Press menu and it’ll highlight something on the screen then use up and down to change what is highlighted and use menu to allow it to be adjusted. Fire button acts as a back button. At the top is VW/TC. Highlight that to switch between TC mode and Power mode. In TC mode you can highlight the type and change to SS, Ni, or Ti. You can highlight the watts to change the watts as well or the temp type (F or C). In VW mode you can change the preheat from normal, powerful, and soft options. Pretty simple overall. At the bottom is a setting icon. Going into that takes you to a sub menu where you can lock the device, lock the resistance for TC mode, set the screen time, the brightness, the language, the off timer, and check the version or factory reset. That’s about it.
The Hcigar Aurora adjusts by 1 watt increments. I love that and wish all mods did that. The mod itself is built solid with no rattle at all, and feels solid with a good weight to it. The Battery door is a standard magnetic backplate and It’s easy to get batteries in and out without damaging wraps and takes 1 2x700 or 18650 battery. There is a ribbon in the battery sled to make it easier. All the batteries i used fit really nicely in the mod including the avatar controls ones which seem to be slightly larger than most 21700 batteries. I also used the vapecell gold 20700, ijoy 5 leg 20700, samsung 30T 21700, aspire 21700 and VTC5a and samsung 25r with the built in adapter. No issues with any of them and no damaged wraps. Now for the adapter, i absolutely love the way they did it. Very innovative. While most mods just have a tube to put in an 18650 battery, the aurora has a slider behind the back panel. Not the panel with the battery and juice but the other side panel. You slide it right to use a 2x700 battery and for an 18650 slide it left which slides out a new contact area to fit in an 18650. Excellent idea and very well designed. The battery doors are made of solid metal so please don’t use batteries with damaged wraps.
The paint on the mod is excellent. I have the red one. No wearing or fading. It looks like a brushed finished as well. Very beautiful. The fire button is nice and clicky and large. It’s a simple black square with texture on it that protrudes out well and nice and clicky. The 510 pin gave me no issues and every atomizer i used on it worked great with no gaps. The mod handles 24mm atomizer flush. Anything bigger will overhang the top plate but not the mod as a whole as the side panels protrude out as well. I think it looks best with a 24mm RDA personally. The screen is a nice sized .96” color screen that is nice and bright and easy to see. Also for branding on the mod itself there is literally none at all. The only branding is inside behind the side panels with a simple hcigar logo and aurora logo. Nothing on the outside.They don’t list a charging rate for the mod but i don’t recommend charging internally in your mods. I don’t do any fancy testing on it but I did charge it a few times in the mod with no issues and it shows you a lightning bolt in the battery bar when charging like an iphone.